National success for Kilkenny swimmers

While Mona McSharry and Daniel Wiffen had the eyes of a nation on them in Paris, hundreds of budding Olympians were finishing their seasons at the Irish National Age Group Championships in Dublin.

It was a good championship for Kilkenny swimmers who all performed very well, many returning home with medals of their own.

Age Group

Kilkenny showed their prowess in distance events at last year’s nationals and continued the success in 2024. There was a double gold success in the 1,500m and 800m freestyle for both Nessa Godden (17) and Abby Cunningham (15). Paddy Cuddihy (16) got gold in the longer event and silver in the 800m.

Maria Godden (18+) chipped in with gold in the 800m. Conor Carroll (15) swam very well to finish seventh in the 1,500m.
The future looks good also as a week earlier in Limerick, Jane O’Connor (13) won silver in the 1500m.

The blue ribbon event of the swimming is the 100m freestyle. Kilkenny were represented in the A finals by Kate Maher (15) and Doug Duffy (16).

Duffy also swam excellently in the 50m free to finish fifth while Maher was eighth. She mixed speed with stamina to knock almost two seconds off her personal best (PB) to come second in the 200m free B final.

The 400m free is an event that requires both speed and stamina. Questions floating around beforehand included are the distance swimmers fast enough and do the sprinters have the stamina?

The girls’ 400m super-final was memorable from a Kilkenny point of view with three swimmers on the blocks. Maria (+18) and Nessa Godden (17) plus Naomi Trait (+18) representing UCD. It was extra special when all three medalled, with Maria and Nessa getting gold and Naomi silver.

There was silver each for Abby and Paddy at 15 and 16 age groups respectively. In the A finals Dan Rohan (16) finished fourth and in doing so knocked over five seconds off his PB. Conor Carroll (15) placed ninth.

The energy-sapping 200m, the longest breaststroke event, saw some excellent swims from Séan Cooke who reached the A final and Dylan Burke in the B final. Abby Cunningham showed she is not just a freestyler by claiming bronze.

Fly is not for everyone and the 200m butterfly can be excruciating, but the McAviney brothers Brogan (19+) and Matthew (18) proved they have the resilience and strength. The brothers delivered powerful performances, claiming silver in their respective age groups.

Earlier in the week Brogan, who like Maria Godden trains in UL, came third in the 100m final. Conor Carroll (15) also reached the 200m A final.

Nyah Vaughan (17) swam an excellent PB to reach the 200m backstroke A final.

In the same event Paddy Cuddihy (16) won gold and also took silver in the 100m. Daran Yalnazov (17) reached the A final, finishing ninth. Maria Godden (18+) won gold in both the 100m and 200m finals.

Individual Medleys

All four strokes must be swam in the individual medley races over either 200m or 400 metres.

There were encouraging performances and PBs from Marcas Bowen, Daran Yalnazov, Brendan Pretorius, Kate Maher and Molly Bollard.

The Kilkenny team in full was Molly Bollard, Marcas Bowen, Dylan Burke, Conor Carroll, Sean Cooke, Paddy Cuddihy, Abby Cunningham, Doug Duffy, Nessa Godden, Sam Kealy, Kate Maher, Matthew McAviney, Erin Morrissey, Shelby Newsome, Brendan Pretorius, Dan Rohan Nyah Vaughan and Daran Yalnazov plus Maria Godden and Brogan McAviney.

Age Group

At the Irish National Age Group Championship in UL, Kilkenny were represented by a 10-strong team of Eilis Bollard, Orlaith Carroll, Eve Lehane, Róisín Moseley, Megan Murphy, Daragh O’Brien, Des O’Connell, Jane O’Connor, Chloe Thompson and Charlotte Wall.

Jane O’Connor (13) showed her abilities in both free and breaststroke. Jane reached both 100m and 200m finals finishing fifth and 10th respectively. Jane excelled in the distance freestyle, as mentioned earlier, she won silver in 1,500m and came sixth in the 400 freestyle.

Des O’Connell (12) looks like a backstroker in the making as he made two A finals in 100m and 200 metres. Daragh O’Brien’s best performance was dropping his PB by over six seconds in the 200m free. Megan Murphy showed her strength in freestyle with final appearances in 200m, 400m and 800 metres. In breaststroke, Róisín Moseley (12) put in two excellent performances and dropped over eight seconds off her 200m PB to finish fifth in the final.

With Irish swimming on a high there will be a surge in interest. Who knows, there might be future Olympians on Noreside!